TYLER, TEXAS – #5, #20 UT Tyler tennis faced one of the top teams in the country on Friday but fell in both matches to kick off their weekend at the Summers Tennis Center.
WOMEN'S MATCH: #20 UT Tyler 1 | #2 West Florida 6
The women's match got started at 11 a.m., and the #2 ranked Argonauts got off to a fast start in doubles. They took the #1 and #2 doubles lines in scores of 6-0 and 6-1. The Patriots pair of
Luisa Moraes and
Paula Castellanos battled tough in line #3, but ultimately the Argonauts took a close 6-4 win to sweep doubles and lead 1-0.
In singles, they would keep up the pressure, taking a pair of wins in the #4 and #5 lines to move ahead 3-0. Both Moraes and
Carla Rodier put up tough fights in the #6 and #3 lines, but Moraes would fall 7-5, 6-2 and Rodier 6-3, 6-3 to make it 5-1 Argonauts and secure the match.
They would add one more point in line #2, but
Yona Bancarel would keep the Patriots from being shut out on the day in the #1 line. Bancarel dropped her first set 5-7, but ripped off a 6-4 win in set two in which she never trailed. That set up a tiebreaker third set, and Bancarel battled back from falling behind 2-4 with five straight points on her way to a 10-7 win to put the lone Patriots point on the board.
MEN'S MATCH: #5 UT Tyler 3 | #2 West Florida 4
The men's match started similar to the women's, with the #2 ranked Argonauts jumping out to an early lead behind strong play in doubles. They took a 6-1 win in line #3, and then following with a pair of tough wins of 6-4 in lines #1 and #2 to take a 1-0 lead.
In singles, the Argonauts put on the pressure with wins in the #2 and #4 line to push them to a 3-0 lead, but UT Tyler battled right back behind their own strong play in the #3 and #4 lines.
Samuel Antwi took a 6-4, 6-2 win in that #4 line, never trailing on his way to a strong straight sets win.
Carel Wessel followed in line #3, taking his own straight sets win. He would fall behind 2-4 in his first set, but won five of the next seven games and earned the win. He would follow that up with a 6-3 win in set two, winning four of five games to close the set and the match.
Those two wins brought the Patriots within one, and
Artiom Dorofeev in line #1 started his match with a marathon 7-6 (14-12) win. Set two was all Argonauts at 0-6, and they would close out the match with a 6-4 win in the final set to secure their fourth point and a win.
Jordi Garcia Portell would earn the final point of the day as he made the final score 4-3 in line #5. He would fall 2-6 in his opening set, but took charge with two straight sets of 6-2, 6-2 that he never trailed in to take the win.
UT Tyler gets a quick chance to battle back, taking on West Alabama on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Tigers are unranked on the men's side and are #3 on the women's side. Those matches will each be at the Summers Tennis Center.
